BioWare sets to reveal new IP with “semi-MMO” features at E3 2017, squashes KOTOR rumors

The developers of the original Mass Effect trilogy, BioWare Edmonton is currently working on a new IP, which will rival other triple-A MMO-light games such as Destiny and The Division. This project is reportedly codenamed Dylan, and BioWare has been working on it for more than four years now. It had a brief introduction at E3 2014, but details shared at the time were mostly vague in nature.

According to industry insider Liam Robertson, the project will officially be revealed at E3 2017, and it’s possibly much bigger than what you can expect. Robertson shared the details on his most recent Patreon podcast, saying the project might be codenamed Dylan, but BioWare might use it as the final name as well. The name is connected with the protagonist, and the game will feature “semi-MMO” features like the ones we’ve seen in Destiny and The Division.

“Dylan is, from what I understand, a sci-fi themed game, it is sort of Destiny-style, takes some elements from The Division, it has like MMO elements. Someone described it as a 'semi-MMO',” said Robertson. “I don't know much more than that… it is a huge scale project, perhaps the biggest BioWare has ever done. It's bigger than Mass Effect Andromeda, considerably so. It will have co-op.”

With that said, BioWare previously said that the game would be an action adventure instead of a role-playing game, and it’s expected to be revealed at E3 2017, with a targeted release window before March 2018.

On a separate note, this detail was revealed at the same podcast where Robertson talked about BioWare Austin making a new Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic title, which turned out to be a clash of information. This came after Kotaku’s Jason Schreier picked up the story with a counter-rumor, saying that BioWare Austin "played around" with a new KOTOR prototype, but "it hasn't been greenlit and is not currently in development." He also believes that the Austin studio is assisting Edmonton on the Dylan project. And if that’s not enough to crush fans’ hopes in getting a new KOTOR game, Robertson even responded to Schreier’s enquiry via e-mail, saying:

Going to hold my hands up here - I think I just misheard some of the Austin stuff when I was talking on Skype, so I may have misspoke there. There’s also the element that I had no notes in front of me and just sort of rambled on from memory. I did not expect these few select statements to blow up (oops). I’m used to having the opportunity to just release follow-up notices on the Patreon with any updates and corrections. My bad there.

Let me clarify that I don’t think KOTOR’s a current project. From the same people I learned about Dylan from, I did hear that they prototyped a KOTOR revival at Austin a while back. I believe it may have evolved into something else since then or fizzled out since then. I’m still confident Austin is doing something Star Wars related though and I’m confident in that. I actually did know that they were contributing towards Dylan since I originally found out about it when I was researching Austin’s Shadow Realms, so if I said exclusively, then that was admittedly a mistake.

Well, this is certainly a huge buzzkill, but it serves as a perfect example to take any kind of rumors with just a grain of salt, as we previously highlighted in the KOTOR report. At least we can look forward to BioWare’s new ambitious IP, though we shouldn’t get too excited just yet until it’s officially revealed.

Just your 'average' media newbie. Have interest in gaming (duh), superhero series, and I enjoy getting engage in conversations about footy. With that said, slight biasedness might be present if we are talking about Chelsea FC. Hope to see the world with my own pair of eyes in the future instead of viewing it through Instagram or Snapchat filters.

Gamehubs is a media company, magazine publisher and online portal that is built by a team of gamers for gamers. We seek to serve the “nerdy” needs of the worldwide gaming community, though with a more in-depth focus to Asian gamers. You’ll find stories related to the region, with features, interviews, and even occasional satires that define the gaming scene in Southeast Asia. Gamehubs is also available in native Thailand and Indonesia at th.gamehubs.com and id.gamehubs.com.

Beyond our online presence, Gamehubs is the official licensee of Edge Asia edition, one of the UK’s oldest and most reputable gaming magazines. This is part of our effort to be more inclusive and adaptive to the current gaming scene, especially in Southeast Asia, and we believe that there are still gamers who prefer physical mediums to enhance their knowledge of the video games industry.

Whether it’s a second opinion you’re seeking to make that purchase decision, or to engage with news of the industry’s quips and qualms in Southeast Asia, we’re more than happy to bridge that gap between you and your favourite video games.